The musical genius of Russian composers Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff will burst into Hill Auditorium this Sunday as the University Musical Society's Choral Union joins the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The evening of music's special guest will be vocal sensation Vladimir Popov, who will sing the baritone solo of "Cantata in Commemoration of Peter the Great." Also featured will be piano soloist Leif Ove Andsnes who will be accompanying the orchestra during Piano Concerto No. 3 by Rachmaninoff.
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UMS Choral Union Sunday, Jan. 26 at 4 p.m. Hill Auditorium, Tickets $18-$46 |
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra marks its 83rd year with the 1996-97 season. It has held a long and distinguished career that includes such notable events as being the first orchestra to be broadcast on the radio in 1934. To this day, they continue to gather more than 450,000 classical music aficionados annually while touring throughout the country and abroad.
Neeme Jarvi, one of today's most sought-after conductors, came to the DSO in 1990 and has led the orchestra to recording 20 compact discs on the Chandros label in the past six years. Born in Estonia, he attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He spent years conducting numerous orchestras and opera companies throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe until making his debut in the United States with the New York Philharmonic in 1980. He is a well recorded conductor with more than 280 entries in his discography.
Popov is one of the world's leading dramatic male vocalists, appearing regularly with the Metropolitan Opera since 1984. His list of performances and roles is exhaustive but covers many notable roles of different composers. He also sang as part of the Olympic Arts Festival in Atlanta last summer.
At the age of 26, Andsnes has accomplished a great deal. He began playing the piano at the age of 5 and attended the Bergen Music Conservatory beginning in 1986. He has recorded numerous major piano solos on the Virgin label. Both audiences and critics have given him praise for past performances of the concerto he will play on Sunday.
Andsnes' American orchestral debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1990, curiously enough, was under the guise of Jarvi - the duo has again reunited after seven years.
Sunday's performance is a single point in the strong UMS season that includes everything from a series of Franz Shubert recitals to a performance of "La Boheme" by the New York City Opera National Company. UMS has grown considerably in the past years, with the number of season ticket holders nearly doubling between the 1994-95 and 199-/96 seasons.
With the talent drawn from all over the world, the reproductions of "Cantata in Commemoration for Peter the Great," "Overture from Voyevode" and "Piano Concerto No. 9" will be astounding. The works of a century ago will again fill the hearts of a captivated audience.